Controversial Deleted Scene From Now-Cancelled Star Wars Series 'The Acolyte' Finally Revealed

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A cinematic obsessive with the filmic palate of a starving raccoon, Rob London will watch pretty much anything once. With a mind like a steel trap, he's an endless fount of movie and TV trivia, borne from a misspent youth of watching monster movies on TV, perusing the sun-faded goods at the local video rental shop, and staining his fingers with ink from the Video Movie Guide. Areas of interest include science fiction, film noir, horror flicks, '70s disaster pictures, Bond movies, '90s action, giant robots, dinosaurs, super heroes, and the exuberantly schlocky output of Cannon Films. He also enjoys both Star Trek and Star Wars when they're good, and maybe even more when they're bad. As a Canadian, he also has a vested interest in Canadian movies and TV shows, especially the cheesier ones dubbed "Canuxploitation."

An expert on Marvel Comics, he has also written for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is a member of the Marvel Research Team. He can frequently be found pontificating on comic-book continuity or bemoaning the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs on his Twitter account.

The controversial Star Wars series The Acolyte may have ended its run on Disney+ after a single season, but new details about the series are still emerging. In the new book The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte, a scene that has been long speculated about, but never confirmed to have existed, has been revealed: a kiss between protagonist Osha (Amandla Stenberg) and antagonist Qimir (Manny Jacinto). The book will be officially released on February 3, 2026, but some copies have already found their way into the hands of readers.

As reported on social media by Twitter user Dani, the book features a shot of a kiss between the two characters (sometimes referred to by the portmanteau ship name "Oshamir"), while the finished series concludes with them both holding a lightsaber together. In an extensive post-mortem interview, Collider's Maggie Lovitt discussed the final moments of the season (and ultimately the series) with creator Leslye Headland, who ultimately rejected the idea of a kiss between the two characters:

I was sort of struggling with what the last moment was. I was kind of struggling with it. It was very important that they feel like equals. It was very important that they felt, honestly, like a power couple. I didn't think he should kiss her because, while he's earned her respect, she's earned his, he's earned her allegiance, and she's earned his, I don't know if he has earned that level of intimacy with her. There have been displays of intimacy, but it felt like they weren't there yet. And so I said, “What's a kiss but not a kiss?” [Laughs] I was like, “I’m sorry, I can't think of something.” And the actors came up with holding the lightsaber together, and as soon as that happened, Hanelle [Culpepper], the director of that episode, set up this gorgeous shot. I realized, I was like, “Oh my god, this is the end of Fight Club, and I'm obsessed!” The last line of that movie is, “You met me at a very strange time in my life.” [Laughs] It just didn't feel like we were quite there.

The Acolyte is available to stream on Disney+.

What Is 'The Acolyte' About?

Set a century before the events of The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte centers around the mysterious murder of a Jedi; the culprit is identified as Osha, a onetime Padawan learner who left the Jedi. A team of Jedi led by Sol (Lee Jung-jae) sets out to find the truth, but they are beset by a mysterious masked Sith known as the Stranger and his apprentice: Mae (Stenberg), Osha's long-lost twin sister. Osha soon learns that the truth extends far deeper than she realizes, and centers around her mysterious origins as the scion of a sisterhood of unconventional Force witches. Meanwhile, the Stranger's secret, unseen master lurks in the shadows...

Authored by Kristin Baver, with a foreword by Acolyte creator Headland, The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte is packed with production art, character designs, and storyboards from the making of the series. It also features interviews with several members of the series' creative team.

The Art of Star Wars: The Acolyte will be officially released in stores on February 3, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.